November 23, 2024

Brighton Journal

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The James Webb Telescope looks to the ‘missing link’ to the origins of the universe and the first stars

The James Webb Telescope looks to the ‘missing link’ to the origins of the universe and the first stars

In reality He was A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered a strange region of space that could be a “missing link” to what is understood about the early days of space and its original stars.

The ‘unprecedented’ discovery shows stars within the galactic system GS-NDG-9422 (9422) radiating a ‘strange light signature’.

This phenomenon is due to the superiority of gases over stars in the galaxy, which was found about a billion years after the big bang. According to NASA.

“The first thing I thought of when I looked at the spectrum of the galaxy was, ‘This is strange,'” researcher Alex Cameron said about the discovery, which was published in the journal.Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society“.


The James Webb Space Telescope, pictured, has discovered a galaxy with strange signatures consistent with early stars. NASA/Drew Noel

He added that the discovery “will help us understand how the cosmic story began.”

Cameron and theorist Harley Katz began running computer models to figure out how cosmic gas could eventually become hotter from its solar sources. Their models were a mirror image of what the Webb telescope had seen, something consistent with so-called third-group stars that existed in the early universe.

“It appears that these stars must be hotter and more massive than what we see in the local universe, which makes sense because the early universe was a very different environment,” Katz said.

In comparison, hot stars near Earth have temperatures between 70,000 and 90,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Far from the bottom of the universe next to galaxy 9422, those temperatures exceed 140,000 degrees.

This is due to what experts believe is a “brief phase of intense star formation” resulting in the creation of many hot stars. Essentially, the gas clouds in the galaxy receive a large amount of photons, causing them to overheat and outshine the source – similar to scorching asphalt bombarded by the sun.

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Researchers have determined that the gas clouds of galaxy GS-NDG-9422 are unusually overshadowing its stars.
Researchers have determined that the gas clouds of galaxy GS-NDG-9422 are unusually overshadowing its stars. NASA, ESA, Canadian Space Agency, Leah Hostak (STScI)

Although 9422 is devoid of any Group III stars, Katz said its star population is “different from what we know” and serves a greater purpose.

He added: “The strange stars in this galaxy could be a clue to understanding how galaxies transitioned from primitive stars to the types of galaxies we already know.”

Thanks to the amazing Webb Telescope, this is just the beginning of a better understanding of deep space and its origins.

“It’s a very exciting time to be able to use the Webb telescope to explore this time in the universe that was previously inaccessible,” Cameron said. “We are only at the beginning of new discoveries and understanding.”